The Rockets are Still a Mess, Even After Beating the Bulls

Houston's Win Over Chicago Doesn't Mask the Real Issues

Look, the Rockets beat the Bulls 118-106 last week. Great. They needed a win, especially after dropping six of their previous eight. But let's not get carried away here. This wasn't some coming-out party for Houston. They shot 46% from the field and actually trailed by 10 points in the second quarter. They needed a 30-point, 10-rebound effort from Alperen Sengun just to get it done against a middling Bulls squad that was missing Zach LaVine.

Here's the thing: Houston's still a bottom-tier team in the Western Conference, currently sitting 11th with a 23-28 record. That's not progress. That's just treading water. Jalen Green, for all his flashes, is still wildly inconsistent. He had 26 points against Chicago, but he shot 3-for-9 from three. The night before against the Pacers, he went 1-for-7 from deep in a 132-129 loss. Dillon Brooks, the big free-agent signing, is averaging 13.1 points and shooting 33.7% from beyond the arc. That's not exactly inspiring confidence for a guy making $20 million a year.

The Sengun Dilemma and Udoka's Coaching Job

Real talk: Sengun is the real deal. He's averaging 21.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists. He's a legitimate All-Star caliber big man, and he's only 21. But even with Sengun playing at an elite level, the Rockets are still struggling to translate that into consistent wins. That puts a lot of pressure on Ime Udoka. He came in with a reputation for defense, and the Rockets have improved there, moving from 29th in defensive rating last season to 10th this year. That's solid.

But the offense is still clunky. They're 24th in offensive rating. Fred VanVleet is doing his best to be the veteran leader, averaging 16.5 points and 8.2 assists. But it feels like he's constantly having to bail out possessions. The Rockets are also 26th in the league in effective field goal percentage (51.9%). They take too many contested shots and don't move the ball enough. This team needs to figure out how to generate easier looks and create better spacing around Sengun, or they're going to keep hovering around .500 for the foreseeable future. My hot take? Udoka needs to rein in Green's shot selection, even if it means benching him for stretches. The potential is there, but the discipline isn't.

I'll tell you what, if the Rockets don't make the play-in tournament this season, it's going to be a massive disappointment, regardless of Sengun's individual brilliance. They've invested too much, and they've got too much young talent. They need to start winning meaningful games. And beating a LaVine-less Bulls team, while nice, doesn't move the needle much for me.